(Ibwill wait for the others to respond. Their responses begin from the time you woke them, to just up to your challenge, but not farther, for then purposes of consistency)
Noel sleeps fitfully at best, the images he saw the previous night flashing in his head.The images of war and slaughter he saw are almost more disturbing to him than the actual day's events. He keeps replaying the glee he saw on the face of the conqeuring commander, the joy that came with his slaughter. No matter what this realm throws at him, he's not sure it can beat the uncanny, disturbing nature of those images
Almost on that unconscious thought, not too deep in sleep yet to miss it, he hears Beren's warning of company and jolts out of bed, grabbing his weapons and trustly candle as fast as he can, his pan flute having not left his die even as he slept. The momement he notices the visitor, a thought from earlier in the day is confirmed - that the eyes left not because they did not want to watch them anymore, but because they were close enough to do so anyway. As Strahd introduced himself, Noel tries his best to get a look look at his eyes, trying to pinpoint if they are truly the ones that watched them earlier
Perception: 11
As Strahd introduces himself as the ruler of this land and makes a comment about "entertainment", Noel's face turns more serious, his mind racing with the prophecy Madam Eva gave them - If he is the ruler of this place, he must be the tyrant she spoke of, the one they are destined to oppose. He chuckles a bit, trying to protect confidence, before saying "I too am a fan of some good entertainment, though I would guess you and I have very different definitions of that word. What exactly is it you want with us?". As he talks, his candle lights, the illusory flame moving more and more violently as his sentance continues
As Beren fills with rage and begins to glow brigher and move agressively towards Strahd. Noel considers stepping in front of him, this visitor quite visibily being increidbly powerful, but decides against it, instead preparing himself to defend Beren and try and get them all out of here if things turn south.
Fortunately for everyone, Jack had stuck to his guns and opted to trance for the night, knowing full well that their environment did not make for enjoying the nightmare collage that was the true dreamscape of most elves; especially for those whose past lives were quite eventful, to say the least. So although he appeared to come around slowly, he very much caught every word, felt the rising of tension, and even subconsciously found himself letting a hand fall near his unbuckled shield for comfort.
But although he eventually got to his feet with the armament in hand, his grip is a loose one along its rim as he tried to effect a pleasant smile in the face of the land's "ruler". The fact that Beren appeared to grow only more incensed by the second hadn't been lost to him in the one sidelong glance at the paladin. So he spoke quickly while making a show of turning his shield into a hat, if albeit one still held by the rim, and said, "Now that is the thousand gold question of the evening, isn't it? The exacting details, that is. And while my dear other friend can perhaps care less in the moment, there's no need to taint the evening with unnecessary bloodshed. Especially when it might very well serve little more purpose than make a fool of oneself at best, and at worse, lead to one's own abrupt and hopefully final end without having accomplished much at all... wouldn't that be right, Beren?" He asked as he strode up to stand beside the glowing warrior or as much as allowed and side-eyed him with a meaningful look.
Now Jack didn't have Beren's supernatural sense for evil. But in the brief exchange between paladin and "maybe" dark ruler, the eladrin found it hard to look at the latter without some images trying to superimpose themselves over both strahd and the environment itself. Another or... others however stood in Strahd's place. Powerful others that -- Jack squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then looked more pointedly at Beren. "Besides! If your not around 'cause of a little, oh, snafu in the heat of the moment, Noel and I would be quite lost without you. And you wouldn't want that now would you?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(Save: 15 )
Strahd's eyes leave Beren as the others stir, pointedly taking his eyes off of him... in some small way, slitting him insofar as he doesn't consider him enough of a threat to watch.
As each of you speak to him he responds in turn, in the order they came, if he responded at all...
"Indeed. You should consider it a great honor to be greeted by vun such as myself. You stand before a God. I velcome you to my humble lands as guests. Fornyou vill be here for all of eyernity.eternity.. one vay or anozer"
Then responding to Noel.
"Perhaps you should have asked Eva before you came then, as it vas her who brought you to me. The Vistani are my servants. And vun vay or another, you vil entertain me.
Exactly how... remains to be seen." He responded cryptically. Finally responding to Jack..
"Mm.. you are cautious. An admirable trait ... but I did not simply come here to share wine and firelight..." He says as he shakes his head, his finger metronoming a task tsk.
As Noel observes, despite his overall difficulty in seeing, can tell this is without a doubt the same man who had been observing them before.
Beren unleashes his bold challenge.. or rather threat, and it washes over Strahd like water from a ducks back.. unphased entirely.
Strahd smiles widely as his eyes lock as much to Berens as possible, a glint flashing in his eyes as Beren feels Strahds charm wash over him...
(DC 17 wisdom save, if failed The charmed target regards Strahd as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. The target isn’t under Strahd’s control, but it takes Strahd’s requests and actions in the most favorable way)
Strahds fingers snapping, as he points to the dirt. "Kneel" was all he said to Beren. His fangs bared with his smile. (Anyone may roll a DC 15 history check)
Regardless of the success or failure of his charm attempt, he would clap into the air, and along the trail where he had came, a pair of humanoids walked up slowly.. awkwardly, as if they could barely ealk, but their hands released the childs mouth as he screamed for help.
"Help me, please! Anyone!" Though try as he might, the boy couldn't get out-of the iron grip of the two, a man and a woman.. who held him, as they continued getting closer.
"The great Strahd has greeted you, and you fail at even the most basic of manners... you failed to give your names after I had given mine. As such.. the child vil die." He says coldly.
Beren, infuriated that this creature seemed completely unaffected by his power, is completely caught unaware when Strahd turns his attention back to him. His body shakes as he is overcome by this cursed magic, the power within threatening to tear him apart as he falls prey to the spell.
Anger wells within him as Strahd commands him to kneel...it felt, all to familiar... Before he knows it he's turned his sword downwards, set its tip to the ground and sinks to one knee. It is a familiar gesture, a stance that has been drilled into him during his servitude to the church and the one who came before that. Yet what can he do? He can't help but follow orders.
The power that had encircled him dissipates, but the light leaking from behind the mask does not. Still shaking, he moves his left hand to his chest, pressing it against his tabard in attempt to help contain himself. He might have succumbed to this spell...but the power within him screams in defiance. It flares, threatening to tear him apart, to burn him to ashes, if he doesn't get up and fight. He bows his head, breathing heavily as his heartbeat thrums wildly.
At the sound of further talking, Beren lifts his head. The light leaks from the mask like tears. His eyes widen at the sight of the child, causing the light to brighten again... no, this brought back memories he'd rather not relive...but it seemed he didn't have a choice in the matter.
Clenching his teeth, he forces himself to look at Strahd, "We fail at basic manners? I..." The words that he would have said are lost to him...perhaps he had been hasty in his threats? Why was he threatening this man in the first place? His hand tightens at his chest, gripping his tabard as the power surges again, "Forgive me, I should have know better. I am called Beren..." He trails off, unsure of why those words felt so right and so wrong at the same time. Wait...Strahd had said something about... He turns his eyes towards the child, no, this child couldn't take the fall for his actions. He has to do something... He looks back over at Strahd, his voice starting to give out from the pain in his chest, "If this mistake has offended you so, that you insist on taking a life..." He leans heavily on his sword for a moment, forcing himself to his feet. "Then take mine." It would end this pain, and satisfy Strahd's need to take a life.
(At lunch at work, so just quick responding, and I could be wrong, but from what I read of divine sense, it tells you that something is evil, celestial, or undead, but not nessecaruly giving you a list and species such as 3 ghouls and a lich. So he would know strahd is undead with the sense but not necessarily that he is a vampire specifically)
With Strahd's comment about Eva and the Vistani, Noel is instantly visibly shocked, the concept of hiding this reaction from Strahd not even dawning on him in this moment. After the day they just had and all of the horrors he saw in his visions and then in real life, the one thing Noel's been able to hold onto is the prophecy, the idea that they were here for a reason. He's thought over every single detail of what Madam Eva told them, trying to make sense of the situation. But to learn now that the Vistani work for this strange man, a horrible realization creeps up on him: there's no grand quest here. They aren't here because of some destiny, but because this strange, horrifying entity wanted them to be here
A part of him is deeply pissed, and almost personally insulted that he's been tricked. He's swindled many a pour soul of our their purse over a game of chance or used his magic to "convince" others of things, but it's been a long, long time since someone has properly fooled him. At this point in his life, he though he'd gotten to the point where he could not be fooled like this, but it's now quite clear he was incredibly misguided. Perhaps Madam Eva lost that game of chance on purpose, to lure him into thinking he had the advantage over her when in reality, she had the situation under control all along
Another part of him questions why she would give them a prophecy at all. If it was entirely a lie, then why bother saying anything even remotely true in it? After all, it's pretty clear that this Strahd guy is the tyrant she was referring to. Might the rest of the prophecy be true still, even though Eva sought only to decieve them? It's hard to know, but in the moment, Noel's brain quickly shifts away from that, this moment filling him with rage. Watching as Strahd threatens to kill a child and Beren is cowed by him, clearly by a more powerful version of some of the same magic types Noel can weild himself, that rage only grows.
The candle at his side lights and his pan flute begins eminating a few notes despire still being at his side. Utterly ingoring Strahd himself, he turns towards Strahd's two minions and says "I suggest you stand back and let that child go, or you might suddenly find your master's orders rather... hillarious". WIth that, assuming Strahd doesn't stop him in some way, he moves as close to the approaching duo as he can, preparing a spell and readying himself to try and grab the child before Strahd can do anything to him. He can only hope these servants have enough of a brain for his spell to take full effect
The moment the two holding the child are within 30 feet of him, he's going to cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter, expending a sorcery point to Twinspell it and target both. Both will have to make a DC 14 Wis save or fall into a fit of laughter (prone and incapacitated) until the spell ends or they suceed on a save. If only one fails, he immediately follows that up by casting Silvery Barbs on the one who suceeded and giving himself the advantage from it. He won't cast silvery barbs if both succeed. If he manages to get both of them to be incapacitated laughing, he'll attempt to run to protect the child, or failing that, yell at the child to flee
Although he appeared a bit taken aback at being called cautious, Jack soon simply shrugged in acceptance of the assessment, but while also making some silent vow of some kind. As for the the revelation about the Vistani, it appears not at all a surprise to Jack. If anything, the Eladrin looked mildly thoughtful, as if trying to work out the means by which the Madam had sent them off over anything else. But that too eventually and quietly shrugged off, as it wasn't exactly the first time the Eladrin had found himself spirited away on some whirlwind adventure. Granted, vague recall tied those moments to having at least some warning ahead of time, but nevertheless...
Nevertheless, Jack is torn away from idle thoughts by the threat against a child. And while momentarily shocking and enough to get the Eladrin's blood boiling to the point his skin and hair began to turn red, in the end the visage of righteous anger melted away in seeing Beren kneel and ultimately beg for the child's life in place of his own. "I don't--" He started to say, only for Noel to make a move. At which point he feigned being torn between staying at Beren's side and joining Noel, only to sigh, take up his wineskin and with a muttered, "And it was such a lovely night" , before taking a healthy swig of the content and really drawing out the process to avoid looking at some anticipated and inevitable outcome.
(OOC: Apologies for the delay. Family came to town, so was busy playing entertainer for the most part. Will roll the history check later on when it's less awkward for him to cast guidance to help him focus.)
Strahd reveals one of his fangs as he sneers and smirks simultaneously down at Beren. A mixture of carnal pleasure In making the glowing man kneel so easily, yet tainted with disinterest. He savored Berens submission, and as it was so practiced, it was as fine wine to him.
He ignores Noel as he rushes past aside from bowing to allow the older gentleman to pass, acting as if he is pointing the way with a flourish. His back to Beren as Beren makes his offer. Strahd hisses, disgusted at the valorous offer. Spitting on the ground beside him before responding. "Oh, such bravery... such *devotion* .. you have promise, but you are not ready. You cling to chivalry like a crutch. I will show you what honor brings in my domain."
Strahd had lived for many lifetimes.. and much as in the clone wars of star wars, when kenobi was captured temporarily, Strahd knew if he could not draw pleasure from Beren due to his sacrifice... he would hurt that which he cared about...
Back with Noel, his twinned spell goes out but fails to land. And he soon knows why, once his chant was done, he could hear the telltale groans of the undead. Still, he sent out his followup, if only to distract atleast one of them...
Strahd shouts, not that he had to, but tonmake sure all could hear... "Barris Zelkova, Ivanka Zelkova... TEAR LITTLE DOMINIC ZELKOVA APART!" He said at a crescendo followed by laughter echoing through the skies as a small cloud passed over the moon, dimming the light ever so slightly, though not making it too hard to see even for Noel...
The child cried out "HELP ME, I DONT WANNA--" Tears glistening in the moonlight before his voice was silenced forever. It was clear the Zombies were intent to tear him In half, but Noel's distraction prevented it, but a slamming hand broke his neck.
The moment lasting an eternity before Noel sees a tiny orange dot fly just past his head, and a massive, fiery explosion rocks the forest. ( 45 ) where the two undead had been, blasting them apart, and creating a vacuum of force momentarily..
Noel was just barely 10 feet out of range as limbs flew in every direction. In that moment, as Noel looked on, he knew that Strahd was a vampire. And he knew that this man was beyond even what normal vampires were capable of.
Strahd released Beren from the charm, freeing him to act as he wished in entirety.
Strahds arms raised to the sky in jubilation.
(You may all act as if in combat if you wish, with the same rules, just no rolls.. this time.
Hopefully I didn't go "too hard" on the one scene. But I like my games to have realistic evil, rather than Saturday morning cartoon villains.
Lastly, I apologize about strahds behavior overall, but they have VERY specific instructions on what will or won't sway him, just as an example.)
"Ready for what...?" Beren asks, his voice laced with pain and suppressed anger. He clutches his sword, the ever increasing pain rising in his chest...he can sense the evil in this man, but...why are his senses conflicting each other? Why does he trust this individual in spite of the power inside begging him to kill him? Why does he trust someone who...
The light behind the mask flares in alarm when Strahd orders the two once-parents to destroy their child. "No..." His voice wavers, showing an emotion he had not yet exhibited so far. He staggers forwards, stumbling past Strahd in a feeble attempt to reach the child in time... but is stopped by the blast. "No..."He says again, shielding his eyes from the flames...the horrible flames...as memories crowd into his mind.
Then...the charm is lifted, and his anger is free once again. "He charmed me," Beren realizes, slowly turning on the vampire. "You..." He growls, the light deepening from a pale yellow to a deep gold. The power pushes against him, poring from his flesh as it tries to escape. This creature of evil, an undead with powers beyond anything he's ever seen...it is the very sort of thing he was created to destroy.
In the back of his mind, he knows he is not powerful enough to fight this being...but the power thinks otherwise, begging him to release its all consuming might. This might be the worst mistake he's ever made, but in the moment, he doesn't care.
He lifts his hand, loosening the chainmail around his mask...he won't remove it, as the more logical side of him doubts that he will be able to kill this creature. If he draws close to death, then he will reconsider. For now, he just lets the light pore from behind the metal through whatever gaps it can find. As soon as it is let free it bursts out like waters from a broken dam, the dark gold brightening to a blinding white. It radiates from him, pooling around him and searing the earth beneath his feet. Strangely, in spite of it searing his skin, the overall pain in subsides.
He moves closer to Strahd, raising his sword over his head and preparing to strike him with all the strength he can muster. Light trails from the blade as he brings the sword down upon this undead creature.
(He is using his Radiant Consumption. I believe he is still within 10ft of Strahd even after walking a short ways past him.)
(I think that these actions are very fitting for such a villain. I appreciate making him real, and not softening his actions to make him less sinister.)
In spite of a fairly healthy wineskin to block his view Jack still closed his eyes as her heard the boy cry, and tried to focus all of his senses on the wine. The fact that it tasted sour in his mouth hardly stopped him from trying to make it his world. But while subconsciously he'd been braced for more cries to join the night, the eladrin choked on his drink in reflexively doing a spit take soon after hearing the sound of an explosion of all things.
"What in the name of prancer?!" He somehow managed to exclaim under his breath while staring uncomprehendingly at the scene. Even as the burning greenery ahead was proof enough of what he'd heard, Jack found himself looking about for the cause of the blaze, having half-expected some rugged wizard or eldritch knight of grim morals to come stepping out of the shadows or floating down with proclamations of Strahd's terrorizing coming to an end. Sure, it still meant the kid was dead -- had died abruptly before his friend, which... was something to unpack as well, but not in the moment!
Unfortunately by the time Jack appeared to even remotely be getting over the shock and connecting Strahd to the fireball, he's taken aback seeing a light arise in the peripheral. Beren's Light, as it turned out. "Beren--" He started to say, but his mind fails to find the words, as the intensity of Beren's rage in his determined approach of strahd strikes him mute in the end. So instead, he turns to Noel, and after some moment's hesitation, Jack decides to rush to the man's side to place a supporting hand on his shoulder and say, "Normally this is the part where I make a joke to lighten the mood again. But I think we're well past that point, huh? And, uh... though the answer to this is probably obvious, but, uh... a-are you alright, Noel?"
(OOC: I imagine Jack would've needed to dash to get close to Noel, so that's pretty much it for him. He'll otherwise be giving Strahd and Beren a WIDE berth on the way there.)
A look of pure dispair washes over Noel's face as his spell fails, Strahd's servants clearly too mindless for the spell to take full effect. Almost by instinct, he throws off the second spell anyway, desperately hoping it will be enough to distract the two and protect the child, but knows full well that it won't be able to do it, and he watches helplessly as Strahd mercilessly orders his servants to kill the child, powerless to stop them
He barely has time to react before he is utterly blinded by the burning light of the firely explosion fills his vision. Though he's thankfully far enough away to avoid the full blast, the edges of his clothes are quickly singed as the fire rages before fading almost as suddenly as it has appeared. Noel stares blankly into the void where the explosion was, trying his best to ignore the scattered limbs, and his mind races with only one thought: it didn't matter. Even if his spell had worked, the child would have been incinerated regardless. This vampiric monster let him get close enough to cast just because he could.
Wis Save (just for my own RP purposes): 19
Noel remains locked into that blank stare until Jack approaches him. He turns to look at his friend, and though he tries to form some sort of sentance, he just can't seem to get any words out. He turns from Jack to Strahd, and for a moment the grief is supplanted by anger. This vampire tricked them, trapped them here in this place to "entertain him". He brutally murdered a child right in front of him just for not saying their names. His candle lights and the illusory flame flickers more violently than it ever has before, waving voilently like an umbrella caught in a hurricane, and he turns to his friends and says, his voice filled with both anger and grief "A vampire. A cold-hearted, wicked vampire. That''s what he is.",before turning violently, screaming "Is that what 'entertainment' is to you, you heartless fiend? Murdering an innocent child? I...".
He cuts himself off before continuing, tempted to lace his words with another spell, but deep down, he knows that this vampire is far, far more powerful than he is. He catches himself right before he begins to cast, just barely able to hold himself back from lashing out
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Noel shouts at Strahd from a small distance away. The brief fires that had ignited the nearby trees momentarily, fizzled out slowly. In the wake of the spell, a crater had formed in the road.
Strahd, still smiling at the terror and other mixed emotions flowing around him, including rage as his skin began to burn away ever so slightly, making him look more monstrous as Berens light had the additional effect of Making Strahd quite visible.
Strahd's eyes pierced Noel's (metaphorically) as he ignored Berens righteous fury -though in Strahds eyes it was little more than impotent rage- "Ahhhh.. you honor me at last." He says in response. "Perhap you vill be more wise the next time you are in the presence of a God who has deigned to grace you." At those words, Jack would ever so briefly sway in dizziness and Deja Vu, though he could not recall why.
Berens sword falling down in an overhand strike, his cold fury putting as much power as he could into it. And though Beren was certain he had put every ounce of strength he had (max damage) Strahd's hand was already there, catching it. Seemingly dealing no damage at all. Strahd held it there effortlessly.
( hit: 17 )
( Slashing Damage: 6 )
( Necrotic damage: 18 )
Strahd backhands Beren with his other hand as what little damage Berens aura had caused over the last few seconds seems to vanish as if it were never there to begin with.
Then, Strahd says loudly enough for all to hear "This has been quite interesting. You amuse me. Had your manners been better" He says mostly to Beren "Perhaps i would have let little Domonic go free." He says as his body turns into a cloud of mist, intangible, and untouchable as he floats away slowly, no worse for wear than he had been when he had came.
Leaving you all there, unable to even strike back with anything else but words. Perhaps magic might do something but you never knew.
In the end, his final words ring hollow to some degree. Perhaps he WOULD have let the child survive, perhaps not. But the childs parents would still be dead. That leading you to realize as several of Berens teeth lie on the ground, bloody and decaying that Strahd had already killed these people except the child before even coming. He had to some degree... already panned all of his out.
(Combat is over for now, though you may sling spells at him as he leaves for the next round with of actions if you wish.
I didn't see a divine smite, thus why I determined he took no damage from the sword strike. If I was wrong, correct me.
You may RP amongst each other freely for a few rounds of posts, and you may continue resting if you wish.
Just remember, you can only get short rest benefits out here.)
(Since Beren used Radiant Consumption he couldn't use the divine smite on top of that. But it would have done an additional 3 radiant damage with the sword strike. Not that it matters much lol.)
(Is Beren taking that slashing damage and necrotic damage from Strahd's backhand?)
Beren's mask does little to soften the blow, serving almost to worsen it as Strahd's hand comes into hard contact with his face, sending him reeling. Blood sprays from the slats at the bottom of the mask, and it is knocked askew, blocking Beren's vision as the pain blossoms in his jaw. He feels the blood fill his mouth and takes a few moments to register what had just happened. He lowers his sword, and grabs the lower part of the mask to straighten it as Strahd's words ring through the night.
The power still flows from him, though it is growing dimmer by the moment. It seems that it has done more damage to him then it did to the monster. He clenches his teeth, which does little to lessen the pain.
Tilting his mask upwards, he glares at the vampire. Words are meaningless in this situation...nothing he says will change what just happened. He clenches his fists, the light behind the mask flaring even as it dims. He failed. He hadn't saved the boy. Nor had he dealt even a scratch to this wicked creature.
Even after Strahd is out of sight, Beren stands there as still as a statue but for his billowing cloak. When the radiance subsides (after 1 minute), the light behind the mask is noticeable dimmer then when Jack and Noel had met him, and his hands hold almost no glow at all. It would take a while for the power to build up again...but for now he can travel with a little less pain.
After a moment, he looks down to where some of his teeth had fallen to the ground. He stares at them for a moment. Such a blow had not been dealt to him in a very long time. What power does he have in comparison to that monster? This power he has...is even more worthless then he'd once thought.
He bends down, picking up the loose teeth and pulling out his waterskin. He pores some water them, then lifts the mask slightly to place the teeth back into his mouth before healing the wounds. Not that it mattered much if he had all of his teeth. It wasn't as if anyone would ever see him smile.
(He's going to use Lay on Hands, but I want to make sure I'm taking all that damage before deciding on how much of the pool he is going to use on himself.)
Turning to his companions, he stands silently for a moment more. Flames dance across his vision, and his eyes drift to where the boy had once been. Perhaps it had been a mercy to let him die. After all, Beren knew all to well what it was like growing up alone. But then...perhaps Dominic could have still had a better life. Couldn't he?
He lowers his head, then moves to where he'd been sitting while on watch. He sits down, knowing now that he definitely won't get any rest.
(Ibwill wait for the others to respond. Their responses begin from the time you woke them, to just up to your challenge, but not farther, for then purposes of consistency)
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Noel sleeps fitfully at best, the images he saw the previous night flashing in his head.The images of war and slaughter he saw are almost more disturbing to him than the actual day's events. He keeps replaying the glee he saw on the face of the conqeuring commander, the joy that came with his slaughter. No matter what this realm throws at him, he's not sure it can beat the uncanny, disturbing nature of those images
Almost on that unconscious thought, not too deep in sleep yet to miss it, he hears Beren's warning of company and jolts out of bed, grabbing his weapons and trustly candle as fast as he can, his pan flute having not left his die even as he slept. The momement he notices the visitor, a thought from earlier in the day is confirmed - that the eyes left not because they did not want to watch them anymore, but because they were close enough to do so anyway. As Strahd introduced himself, Noel tries his best to get a look look at his eyes, trying to pinpoint if they are truly the ones that watched them earlier
Perception: 11
As Strahd introduces himself as the ruler of this land and makes a comment about "entertainment", Noel's face turns more serious, his mind racing with the prophecy Madam Eva gave them - If he is the ruler of this place, he must be the tyrant she spoke of, the one they are destined to oppose. He chuckles a bit, trying to protect confidence, before saying "I too am a fan of some good entertainment, though I would guess you and I have very different definitions of that word. What exactly is it you want with us?". As he talks, his candle lights, the illusory flame moving more and more violently as his sentance continues
As Beren fills with rage and begins to glow brigher and move agressively towards Strahd. Noel considers stepping in front of him, this visitor quite visibily being increidbly powerful, but decides against it, instead preparing himself to defend Beren and try and get them all out of here if things turn south.
(Will give Jack time to respond. Expect a response from me here in 12 to 14 hours regardless, to keep the pace)
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Fortunately for everyone, Jack had stuck to his guns and opted to trance for the night, knowing full well that their environment did not make for enjoying the nightmare collage that was the true dreamscape of most elves; especially for those whose past lives were quite eventful, to say the least. So although he appeared to come around slowly, he very much caught every word, felt the rising of tension, and even subconsciously found himself letting a hand fall near his unbuckled shield for comfort.
But although he eventually got to his feet with the armament in hand, his grip is a loose one along its rim as he tried to effect a pleasant smile in the face of the land's "ruler". The fact that Beren appeared to grow only more incensed by the second hadn't been lost to him in the one sidelong glance at the paladin. So he spoke quickly while making a show of turning his shield into a hat, if albeit one still held by the rim, and said, "Now that is the thousand gold question of the evening, isn't it? The exacting details, that is. And while my dear other friend can perhaps care less in the moment, there's no need to taint the evening with unnecessary bloodshed. Especially when it might very well serve little more purpose than make a fool of oneself at best, and at worse, lead to one's own abrupt and hopefully final end without having accomplished much at all... wouldn't that be right, Beren?" He asked as he strode up to stand beside the glowing warrior or as much as allowed and side-eyed him with a meaningful look.
Now Jack didn't have Beren's supernatural sense for evil. But in the brief exchange between paladin and "maybe" dark ruler, the eladrin found it hard to look at the latter without some images trying to superimpose themselves over both strahd and the environment itself. Another or... others however stood in Strahd's place. Powerful others that -- Jack squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then looked more pointedly at Beren. "Besides! If your not around 'cause of a little, oh, snafu in the heat of the moment, Noel and I would be quite lost without you. And you wouldn't want that now would you?"
Goyo - [Tortle]Druid/Warlock - Circle of Sea/Celestial (Libretalia)
Vogan - [Goliath-Hill]Bard - ???(A Dungeon-Delving Campaign Group C)
Jack Vicvan - [Eladrin]Warlock - Archfey
(Save: 15 )
Strahd's eyes leave Beren as the others stir, pointedly taking his eyes off of him... in some small way, slitting him insofar as he doesn't consider him enough of a threat to watch.
As each of you speak to him he responds in turn, in the order they came, if he responded at all...
"Indeed. You should consider it a great honor to be greeted by vun such as myself. You stand before a God. I velcome you to my humble lands as guests. Fornyou vill be here for all of eyernity.eternity.. one vay or anozer"
Then responding to Noel.
"Perhaps you should have asked Eva before you came then, as it vas her who brought you to me. The Vistani are my servants. And vun vay or another, you vil entertain me.
Exactly how... remains to be seen." He responded cryptically. Finally responding to Jack..
"Mm.. you are cautious. An admirable trait ... but I did not simply come here to share wine and firelight..." He says as he shakes his head, his finger metronoming a task tsk.
As Noel observes, despite his overall difficulty in seeing, can tell this is without a doubt the same man who had been observing them before.
Beren unleashes his bold challenge.. or rather threat, and it washes over Strahd like water from a ducks back.. unphased entirely.
Strahd smiles widely as his eyes lock as much to Berens as possible, a glint flashing in his eyes as Beren feels Strahds charm wash over him...
(DC 17 wisdom save, if failed The charmed target regards Strahd as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. The target isn’t under Strahd’s control, but it takes Strahd’s requests and actions in the most favorable way)
Strahds fingers snapping, as he points to the dirt. "Kneel" was all he said to Beren. His fangs bared with his smile. (Anyone may roll a DC 15 history check)
Regardless of the success or failure of his charm attempt, he would clap into the air, and along the trail where he had came, a pair of humanoids walked up slowly.. awkwardly, as if they could barely ealk, but their hands released the childs mouth as he screamed for help.
"Help me, please! Anyone!" Though try as he might, the boy couldn't get out-of the iron grip of the two, a man and a woman.. who held him, as they continued getting closer.
"The great Strahd has greeted you, and you fail at even the most basic of manners... you failed to give your names after I had given mine. As such.. the child vil die." He says coldly.
(The child is 75 feet away along the path)
Occassional Dungeon Master.
(lol. Well crap :'D)
Wisdom save: 7
(Question: Vampires are undead right? Can't Beren tell by using Divine Sense that Strahd is undead?)
History check: 13
Beren, infuriated that this creature seemed completely unaffected by his power, is completely caught unaware when Strahd turns his attention back to him. His body shakes as he is overcome by this cursed magic, the power within threatening to tear him apart as he falls prey to the spell.
Anger wells within him as Strahd commands him to kneel...it felt, all to familiar... Before he knows it he's turned his sword downwards, set its tip to the ground and sinks to one knee. It is a familiar gesture, a stance that has been drilled into him during his servitude to the church and the one who came before that. Yet what can he do? He can't help but follow orders.
The power that had encircled him dissipates, but the light leaking from behind the mask does not. Still shaking, he moves his left hand to his chest, pressing it against his tabard in attempt to help contain himself. He might have succumbed to this spell...but the power within him screams in defiance. It flares, threatening to tear him apart, to burn him to ashes, if he doesn't get up and fight. He bows his head, breathing heavily as his heartbeat thrums wildly.
At the sound of further talking, Beren lifts his head. The light leaks from the mask like tears. His eyes widen at the sight of the child, causing the light to brighten again... no, this brought back memories he'd rather not relive...but it seemed he didn't have a choice in the matter.
Clenching his teeth, he forces himself to look at Strahd, "We fail at basic manners? I..." The words that he would have said are lost to him...perhaps he had been hasty in his threats? Why was he threatening this man in the first place? His hand tightens at his chest, gripping his tabard as the power surges again, "Forgive me, I should have know better. I am called Beren..." He trails off, unsure of why those words felt so right and so wrong at the same time. Wait...Strahd had said something about... He turns his eyes towards the child, no, this child couldn't take the fall for his actions. He has to do something... He looks back over at Strahd, his voice starting to give out from the pain in his chest, "If this mistake has offended you so, that you insist on taking a life..." He leans heavily on his sword for a moment, forcing himself to his feet. "Then take mine." It would end this pain, and satisfy Strahd's need to take a life.
(At lunch at work, so just quick responding, and I could be wrong, but from what I read of divine sense, it tells you that something is evil, celestial, or undead, but not nessecaruly giving you a list and species such as 3 ghouls and a lich. So he would know strahd is undead with the sense but not necessarily that he is a vampire specifically)
Occassional Dungeon Master.
With Strahd's comment about Eva and the Vistani, Noel is instantly visibly shocked, the concept of hiding this reaction from Strahd not even dawning on him in this moment. After the day they just had and all of the horrors he saw in his visions and then in real life, the one thing Noel's been able to hold onto is the prophecy, the idea that they were here for a reason. He's thought over every single detail of what Madam Eva told them, trying to make sense of the situation. But to learn now that the Vistani work for this strange man, a horrible realization creeps up on him: there's no grand quest here. They aren't here because of some destiny, but because this strange, horrifying entity wanted them to be here
A part of him is deeply pissed, and almost personally insulted that he's been tricked. He's swindled many a pour soul of our their purse over a game of chance or used his magic to "convince" others of things, but it's been a long, long time since someone has properly fooled him. At this point in his life, he though he'd gotten to the point where he could not be fooled like this, but it's now quite clear he was incredibly misguided. Perhaps Madam Eva lost that game of chance on purpose, to lure him into thinking he had the advantage over her when in reality, she had the situation under control all along
Another part of him questions why she would give them a prophecy at all. If it was entirely a lie, then why bother saying anything even remotely true in it? After all, it's pretty clear that this Strahd guy is the tyrant she was referring to. Might the rest of the prophecy be true still, even though Eva sought only to decieve them? It's hard to know, but in the moment, Noel's brain quickly shifts away from that, this moment filling him with rage. Watching as Strahd threatens to kill a child and Beren is cowed by him, clearly by a more powerful version of some of the same magic types Noel can weild himself, that rage only grows.
The candle at his side lights and his pan flute begins eminating a few notes despire still being at his side. Utterly ingoring Strahd himself, he turns towards Strahd's two minions and says "I suggest you stand back and let that child go, or you might suddenly find your master's orders rather... hillarious". WIth that, assuming Strahd doesn't stop him in some way, he moves as close to the approaching duo as he can, preparing a spell and readying himself to try and grab the child before Strahd can do anything to him. He can only hope these servants have enough of a brain for his spell to take full effect
The moment the two holding the child are within 30 feet of him, he's going to cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter, expending a sorcery point to Twinspell it and target both. Both will have to make a DC 14 Wis save or fall into a fit of laughter (prone and incapacitated) until the spell ends or they suceed on a save. If only one fails, he immediately follows that up by casting Silvery Barbs on the one who suceeded and giving himself the advantage from it. He won't cast silvery barbs if both succeed. If he manages to get both of them to be incapacitated laughing, he'll attempt to run to protect the child, or failing that, yell at the child to flee
(Will wait for Jack to post. I noticed he didn't post on the other tonight so he may have been busy)
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Oh, also:
History Check: 18
Although he appeared a bit taken aback at being called cautious, Jack soon simply shrugged in acceptance of the assessment, but while also making some silent vow of some kind. As for the the revelation about the Vistani, it appears not at all a surprise to Jack. If anything, the Eladrin looked mildly thoughtful, as if trying to work out the means by which the Madam had sent them off over anything else. But that too eventually and quietly shrugged off, as it wasn't exactly the first time the Eladrin had found himself spirited away on some whirlwind adventure. Granted, vague recall tied those moments to having at least some warning ahead of time, but nevertheless...
Nevertheless, Jack is torn away from idle thoughts by the threat against a child. And while momentarily shocking and enough to get the Eladrin's blood boiling to the point his skin and hair began to turn red, in the end the visage of righteous anger melted away in seeing Beren kneel and ultimately beg for the child's life in place of his own. "I don't--" He started to say, only for Noel to make a move. At which point he feigned being torn between staying at Beren's side and joining Noel, only to sigh, take up his wineskin and with a muttered, "And it was such a lovely night" , before taking a healthy swig of the content and really drawing out the process to avoid looking at some anticipated and inevitable outcome.
(OOC: Apologies for the delay. Family came to town, so was busy playing entertainer for the most part. Will roll the history check later on when it's less awkward for him to cast guidance to help him focus.)
Goyo - [Tortle]Druid/Warlock - Circle of Sea/Celestial (Libretalia)
Vogan - [Goliath-Hill]Bard - ???(A Dungeon-Delving Campaign Group C)
Jack Vicvan - [Eladrin]Warlock - Archfey
Strahd reveals one of his fangs as he sneers and smirks simultaneously down at Beren. A mixture of carnal pleasure In making the glowing man kneel so easily, yet tainted with disinterest. He savored Berens submission, and as it was so practiced, it was as fine wine to him.
He ignores Noel as he rushes past aside from bowing to allow the older gentleman to pass, acting as if he is pointing the way with a flourish. His back to Beren as Beren makes his offer. Strahd hisses, disgusted at the valorous offer. Spitting on the ground beside him before responding. "Oh, such bravery... such *devotion* .. you have promise, but you are not ready. You cling to chivalry like a crutch. I will show you what honor brings in my domain."
Strahd had lived for many lifetimes.. and much as in the clone wars of star wars, when kenobi was captured temporarily, Strahd knew if he could not draw pleasure from Beren due to his sacrifice... he would hurt that which he cared about...
Back with Noel, his twinned spell goes out but fails to land. And he soon knows why, once his chant was done, he could hear the telltale groans of the undead. Still, he sent out his followup, if only to distract atleast one of them...
Strahd shouts, not that he had to, but tonmake sure all could hear... "Barris Zelkova, Ivanka Zelkova... TEAR LITTLE DOMINIC ZELKOVA APART!" He said at a crescendo followed by laughter echoing through the skies as a small cloud passed over the moon, dimming the light ever so slightly, though not making it too hard to see even for Noel...
The child cried out "HELP ME, I DONT WANNA--" Tears glistening in the moonlight before his voice was silenced forever. It was clear the Zombies were intent to tear him In half, but Noel's distraction prevented it, but a slamming hand broke his neck.
The moment lasting an eternity before Noel sees a tiny orange dot fly just past his head, and a massive, fiery explosion rocks the forest. ( 45 ) where the two undead had been, blasting them apart, and creating a vacuum of force momentarily..
Noel was just barely 10 feet out of range as limbs flew in every direction. In that moment, as Noel looked on, he knew that Strahd was a vampire. And he knew that this man was beyond even what normal vampires were capable of.
Strahd released Beren from the charm, freeing him to act as he wished in entirety.
Strahds arms raised to the sky in jubilation.
(You may all act as if in combat if you wish, with the same rules, just no rolls.. this time.
Hopefully I didn't go "too hard" on the one scene. But I like my games to have realistic evil, rather than Saturday morning cartoon villains.
Lastly, I apologize about strahds behavior overall, but they have VERY specific instructions on what will or won't sway him, just as an example.)
Occassional Dungeon Master.
"Ready for what...?" Beren asks, his voice laced with pain and suppressed anger. He clutches his sword, the ever increasing pain rising in his chest...he can sense the evil in this man, but...why are his senses conflicting each other? Why does he trust this individual in spite of the power inside begging him to kill him? Why does he trust someone who...
The light behind the mask flares in alarm when Strahd orders the two once-parents to destroy their child. "No..." His voice wavers, showing an emotion he had not yet exhibited so far. He staggers forwards, stumbling past Strahd in a feeble attempt to reach the child in time... but is stopped by the blast. "No..." He says again, shielding his eyes from the flames...the horrible flames...as memories crowd into his mind.
Then...the charm is lifted, and his anger is free once again. "He charmed me," Beren realizes, slowly turning on the vampire. "You..." He growls, the light deepening from a pale yellow to a deep gold. The power pushes against him, poring from his flesh as it tries to escape. This creature of evil, an undead with powers beyond anything he's ever seen...it is the very sort of thing he was created to destroy.
In the back of his mind, he knows he is not powerful enough to fight this being...but the power thinks otherwise, begging him to release its all consuming might. This might be the worst mistake he's ever made, but in the moment, he doesn't care.
He lifts his hand, loosening the chainmail around his mask...he won't remove it, as the more logical side of him doubts that he will be able to kill this creature. If he draws close to death, then he will reconsider. For now, he just lets the light pore from behind the metal through whatever gaps it can find. As soon as it is let free it bursts out like waters from a broken dam, the dark gold brightening to a blinding white. It radiates from him, pooling around him and searing the earth beneath his feet. Strangely, in spite of it searing his skin, the overall pain in subsides.
He moves closer to Strahd, raising his sword over his head and preparing to strike him with all the strength he can muster. Light trails from the blade as he brings the sword down upon this undead creature.
(He is using his Radiant Consumption. I believe he is still within 10ft of Strahd even after walking a short ways past him.)
(I think that these actions are very fitting for such a villain. I appreciate making him real, and not softening his actions to make him less sinister.)
In spite of a fairly healthy wineskin to block his view Jack still closed his eyes as her heard the boy cry, and tried to focus all of his senses on the wine. The fact that it tasted sour in his mouth hardly stopped him from trying to make it his world. But while subconsciously he'd been braced for more cries to join the night, the eladrin choked on his drink in reflexively doing a spit take soon after hearing the sound of an explosion of all things.
"What in the name of prancer?!" He somehow managed to exclaim under his breath while staring uncomprehendingly at the scene. Even as the burning greenery ahead was proof enough of what he'd heard, Jack found himself looking about for the cause of the blaze, having half-expected some rugged wizard or eldritch knight of grim morals to come stepping out of the shadows or floating down with proclamations of Strahd's terrorizing coming to an end. Sure, it still meant the kid was dead -- had died abruptly before his friend, which... was something to unpack as well, but not in the moment!
Unfortunately by the time Jack appeared to even remotely be getting over the shock and connecting Strahd to the fireball, he's taken aback seeing a light arise in the peripheral. Beren's Light, as it turned out. "Beren--" He started to say, but his mind fails to find the words, as the intensity of Beren's rage in his determined approach of strahd strikes him mute in the end. So instead, he turns to Noel, and after some moment's hesitation, Jack decides to rush to the man's side to place a supporting hand on his shoulder and say, "Normally this is the part where I make a joke to lighten the mood again. But I think we're well past that point, huh? And, uh... though the answer to this is probably obvious, but, uh... a-are you alright, Noel?"
(OOC: I imagine Jack would've needed to dash to get close to Noel, so that's pretty much it for him. He'll otherwise be giving Strahd and Beren a WIDE berth on the way there.)
Goyo - [Tortle]Druid/Warlock - Circle of Sea/Celestial (Libretalia)
Vogan - [Goliath-Hill]Bard - ???(A Dungeon-Delving Campaign Group C)
Jack Vicvan - [Eladrin]Warlock - Archfey
A look of pure dispair washes over Noel's face as his spell fails, Strahd's servants clearly too mindless for the spell to take full effect. Almost by instinct, he throws off the second spell anyway, desperately hoping it will be enough to distract the two and protect the child, but knows full well that it won't be able to do it, and he watches helplessly as Strahd mercilessly orders his servants to kill the child, powerless to stop them
He barely has time to react before he is utterly blinded by the burning light of the firely explosion fills his vision. Though he's thankfully far enough away to avoid the full blast, the edges of his clothes are quickly singed as the fire rages before fading almost as suddenly as it has appeared. Noel stares blankly into the void where the explosion was, trying his best to ignore the scattered limbs, and his mind races with only one thought: it didn't matter. Even if his spell had worked, the child would have been incinerated regardless. This vampiric monster let him get close enough to cast just because he could.
Wis Save (just for my own RP purposes): 19
Noel remains locked into that blank stare until Jack approaches him. He turns to look at his friend, and though he tries to form some sort of sentance, he just can't seem to get any words out. He turns from Jack to Strahd, and for a moment the grief is supplanted by anger. This vampire tricked them, trapped them here in this place to "entertain him". He brutally murdered a child right in front of him just for not saying their names. His candle lights and the illusory flame flickers more violently than it ever has before, waving voilently like an umbrella caught in a hurricane, and he turns to his friends and says, his voice filled with both anger and grief "A vampire. A cold-hearted, wicked vampire. That''s what he is.", before turning violently, screaming "Is that what 'entertainment' is to you, you heartless fiend? Murdering an innocent child? I...".
He cuts himself off before continuing, tempted to lace his words with another spell, but deep down, he knows that this vampire is far, far more powerful than he is. He catches himself right before he begins to cast, just barely able to hold himself back from lashing out
Noel shouts at Strahd from a small distance away. The brief fires that had ignited the nearby trees momentarily, fizzled out slowly. In the wake of the spell, a crater had formed in the road.
Strahd, still smiling at the terror and other mixed emotions flowing around him, including rage as his skin began to burn away ever so slightly, making him look more monstrous as Berens light had the additional effect of Making Strahd quite visible.
Strahd's eyes pierced Noel's (metaphorically) as he ignored Berens righteous fury -though in Strahds eyes it was little more than impotent rage- "Ahhhh.. you honor me at last." He says in response. "Perhap you vill be more wise the next time you are in the presence of a God who has deigned to grace you." At those words, Jack would ever so briefly sway in dizziness and Deja Vu, though he could not recall why.
Berens sword falling down in an overhand strike, his cold fury putting as much power as he could into it. And though Beren was certain he had put every ounce of strength he had (max damage) Strahd's hand was already there, catching it. Seemingly dealing no damage at all. Strahd held it there effortlessly.
( hit: 17 )
( Slashing Damage: 6 )
( Necrotic damage: 18 )
Strahd backhands Beren with his other hand as what little damage Berens aura had caused over the last few seconds seems to vanish as if it were never there to begin with.
Then, Strahd says loudly enough for all to hear "This has been quite interesting. You amuse me. Had your manners been better" He says mostly to Beren "Perhaps i would have let little Domonic go free." He says as his body turns into a cloud of mist, intangible, and untouchable as he floats away slowly, no worse for wear than he had been when he had came.
Leaving you all there, unable to even strike back with anything else but words. Perhaps magic might do something but you never knew.
In the end, his final words ring hollow to some degree. Perhaps he WOULD have let the child survive, perhaps not. But the childs parents would still be dead. That leading you to realize as several of Berens teeth lie on the ground, bloody and decaying that Strahd had already killed these people except the child before even coming. He had to some degree... already panned all of his out.
(Combat is over for now, though you may sling spells at him as he leaves for the next round with of actions if you wish.
I didn't see a divine smite, thus why I determined he took no damage from the sword strike. If I was wrong, correct me.
You may RP amongst each other freely for a few rounds of posts, and you may continue resting if you wish.
Just remember, you can only get short rest benefits out here.)
Occassional Dungeon Master.
(Since Beren used Radiant Consumption he couldn't use the divine smite on top of that. But it would have done an additional 3 radiant damage with the sword strike. Not that it matters much lol.)
(Is Beren taking that slashing damage and necrotic damage from Strahd's backhand?)
Beren's mask does little to soften the blow, serving almost to worsen it as Strahd's hand comes into hard contact with his face, sending him reeling. Blood sprays from the slats at the bottom of the mask, and it is knocked askew, blocking Beren's vision as the pain blossoms in his jaw. He feels the blood fill his mouth and takes a few moments to register what had just happened. He lowers his sword, and grabs the lower part of the mask to straighten it as Strahd's words ring through the night.
The power still flows from him, though it is growing dimmer by the moment. It seems that it has done more damage to him then it did to the monster. He clenches his teeth, which does little to lessen the pain.
Tilting his mask upwards, he glares at the vampire. Words are meaningless in this situation...nothing he says will change what just happened. He clenches his fists, the light behind the mask flaring even as it dims. He failed. He hadn't saved the boy. Nor had he dealt even a scratch to this wicked creature.
Even after Strahd is out of sight, Beren stands there as still as a statue but for his billowing cloak. When the radiance subsides (after 1 minute), the light behind the mask is noticeable dimmer then when Jack and Noel had met him, and his hands hold almost no glow at all. It would take a while for the power to build up again...but for now he can travel with a little less pain.
After a moment, he looks down to where some of his teeth had fallen to the ground. He stares at them for a moment. Such a blow had not been dealt to him in a very long time. What power does he have in comparison to that monster? This power he has...is even more worthless then he'd once thought.
He bends down, picking up the loose teeth and pulling out his waterskin. He pores some water them, then lifts the mask slightly to place the teeth back into his mouth before healing the wounds. Not that it mattered much if he had all of his teeth. It wasn't as if anyone would ever see him smile.
(He's going to use Lay on Hands, but I want to make sure I'm taking all that damage before deciding on how much of the pool he is going to use on himself.)
Turning to his companions, he stands silently for a moment more. Flames dance across his vision, and his eyes drift to where the boy had once been. Perhaps it had been a mercy to let him die. After all, Beren knew all to well what it was like growing up alone. But then...perhaps Dominic could have still had a better life. Couldn't he?
He lowers his head, then moves to where he'd been sitting while on watch. He sits down, knowing now that he definitely won't get any rest.
(Yes. His unarmed strike deals both)
Occassional Dungeon Master.
(Okay, so I had him take 11 necrotic damage since he's resistant. Not sure if we want to round up or down, so I just rounded up for this one.)
(He will go ahead and use 6 hp from Lay on Hands... Man that hurt lol.)